Israel settler law angers world powers, but US silent

JERUSALEM: Israel faced mounting international criticism Tuesday over a new law allowing the appropriation of private Palestinian land for Jewish settler outposts, but the United States remained notably silent.

The United Nations, Britain, France and Israel’s neighbour Jordan were among those coming out against the legislation passed in parliament late Monday.

“This bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

The law legalises dozens of wildcat outposts and thousands of settler homes in the occupied West Bank, and prompted a Palestinian call for the international community to punish Israel.

Pro-Palestinian Israeli NGOs said they would ask the Supreme Court to strike down the law, and opposition leader Isaac Herzog warned the legislation could result in Israeli officials facing the International Criminal Court.

France called the bill a “new attack on the two-state solution”, while Britain said it “damages Israel’s standing with its international partners”.

Turkey “strongly condemned” the law and Israel’s “unacceptable” settlement policy, and the Arab League accused Israel of “stealing the land and appropriating the property of Palestinians”.

UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov told AFP the bill crossed a “thick red line” towards annexation of the West Bank — the largest part of the Palestinian territories.

“(The law) opens the potential for the full annexation of the West Bank and therefore undermines substantially the two-state solution,” he said.

US silence

The United States refused to comment, however, in stark contrast to the settlement criticism repeatedly voiced under Barack Obama.

The State Department said President Donald Trump’s new administration “needs to have the chance to fully consult with all parties on the way forward”.

Separately to the new law, Israel has approved more than 6,000 settler homes since Trump took office on January 20 having signalled a softer stance on the issue than his predecessor.

The law, which passed 60 to 52 in its final reading, will allow Israel to legally seize Palestinian private land on which Israelis built outposts without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so.

Palestinian owners will be compensated financially or with other land.

It would apply to around 53 outposts as well as some houses within existing settlements, potentially legalising more than 3,800 homes, according to anti-settlement NGO Peace Now, which called the law “another step towards annexation and away from a two-state solution”.

The law could still be challenged, with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying last week it was likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court.

International law considers all settlements illegal, but Israel distinguishes between those it sanctions and those it does not, which are known as outposts.

The new law would protect settlers against eviction from outposts discovered to have been built on private Palestinian lands such as in the case of Amona, where 42 families were evicted and their homes demolished in recent days by order of Israel’s Supreme Court.

To some Israelis, the law reflects their God-given right over the territory, regardless of the courts, the Palestinians and the international community.

“All of the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people,” said Science Minister Ofir Akunis of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, using the biblical term that includes the West Bank.